Archive for fitness commentary, news
PLEASE TAKE ACTION
Listen up: Congress has recently introduced HR 3699, the Research Works Act. If passed, this bill will prevent the National Institutes of Health or any other agency from allowing private-sector research to be disseminated online without prior consent of both the publisher and study authors, even if the funding for that research came from OUR tax dollars.
This is What We’re Up Against…
I want to thank my colleague Kim for drawing my attention to this one:
Q&A: Hip Bridge: Push or Pull?
In the midst of a project related to the curriculum at FPTI, a healthy debate arose last week amongst my colleagues: What determines whether a lower-body exercise is termed a “push” or a “pull?”
With the upper body, it’s pretty clear: A push is a vertical or horizontal movement that involves moving a load AWAY from the body (either overhead or to the front, respectively), whereas a pull is a vertical or horizontal movement that involves bringing a load TOWARD the body (either from overhead or from the front, respectively). Here are some examples:
2012 Fitness Forecast
Happy New Year!
2011 marked some major milestones: FocusNYC celebrated its 10-year anniversary, opened a new facility and started a very successful personal training institute. And I finally finished grad school and took a nap! Unless 2012 really does bring the apocalypse, I think it’s going to be an even better year.
If you’re interested, check out this video for a recap of 2011′s fitness trends, and see what John Spencer Ellis and Mike Mahler see in store for 2012:
And if you’re not about to sit through that… here’s what I see on the horizon:
Calorie Shaper vs. The Shake Weight
In case you missed Alwyn Cosgrove‘s Facebook post last week, check out this ridiculous commercial for a new Japanese underwear that claims to increase caloric burn:
Are Asymmetries Really So Bad?
First, I want to congratulate all of my coworkers who completed the Tough Mudder Tri-State 2011 race this weekend.
Sorry I missed this one, but it was worth it to see one of my favorite people in the world almost go into shock when she realized all of her best friends had made the trek to Boston from all over the country to surprise her on her 30th birthday with a weekend of food and festivities. It was a great time, and thank God MegaBus accepts reservation numbers or else I would’ve had to miss it on account of the fact that I somehow lost my bus ticket in the 30 seconds between when I was racing out of the cab and into the line for the bus…
From Fit to Fat…On Purpose
What would you say if you saw this guy on the beach?
Now, what would you say if I told you he’s chosen to look like this instead:
Is it All in Your Mind?
At least two percent of it probably is, according to THIS RECENT ARTICLE in the New York Times discussing a performance study done on deceived cyclists.
ACSM vs. The Gurus
As you may know, the American College of Sports Medicine recently updated its exercise guidelines and released them last month (you can read the full position stand HERE).
Many people find the fitness industry about as frustrating as the stock market because we always seem to be up and down regarding what’s “optimal.” It’s no wonder our dogmatic ways get mocked:
The Antithesis to Childhood Obesity is 10 Years Old
Let’s Move over Michelle Obama!
10-year-old CJ Senter is on his own mission to end childhood obesity. While some youth are downing ding dongs and dying of blood clots due to sedentary behavior like playing video games, CJ (a.k.a., “The Workout Kid”) is shunning sweets in favor of vegetables, launching websites and making exercise videos to motivate his peers to get physical. Check it out:
Now, I’m sure some of you will say he’s too young to be training and should just be playing sports (which he does – baseball, basketball, football and track, to be exact), while others will think his parents are exploiting his athleticism in an effort to make money. There are likely even more that will say a 10-year-old fitness instructor only encourages more mockery of our industry.
Okay, I admit this probably won’t help us set a standard. But aside from CJ’s lack of experience and credentials, and some questionable plank form… I think what he’s doing is great. I just hope he’s not too upset when he finds out he didn’t actually invent “The Shredder” (a.k.a., the burpee)!
Let’s face it: Rebellious youth are way more likely to listen to this kid than some adult, especially a mother-figure like Michelle Obama (no offense), no matter how buff her arms look. If his exercise video gets a few more kids off the couch, it’s a little harder to dismiss as an insult, and I’m all for it.
What does everyone else think?
To receive our latest posts via e-mail, enter your address below:
FitnessMash was created by the renowned celebrity trainers and coaches of FocusNYC. We separate fact from fad and redefine fitness as a science. The only hype here is the truth, so let us be your one-stop shop for cutting-edge fitness information that gets you results.
Available Spring 2011.
